Weebly is a popular site builder that has helped more than 40 million websites. So they must be doing something right! So let’s see how Weebly can help you build a winning website with this Weebly Review…
- The Start of Weebly
- 1. What is Weebly, and How does it work?
- 2. Choose a Plan – Weebly Review
- 3. Setting up your Website
- 4. Good Variety of Templates
- 5. Simple Website Editor
- 6. Center for Weebly Apps
- 7. Weebly Review – Analytics
- 8. SEO Tool Included
- 9. Perfect for eCommerce
- 10. Customer Service
- 11. Weebly Review Conclusion
The Start of Weebly
Weebly was started in 2002 in San Francisco by young college friends David, Dan, and Chris. Their idea was to help people easily create a professional and visually appealing website.
Up to that point you either paid a website designer or learned the complicated task of coding. Weebly was a game-changer for people like you, who wanted to start their own eCommerce business, with low start-up costs and control of the design process.
So let’s look at what’s on offer in more detail…
1. What is Weebly, and How does it work?
Weebly lets people build their websites using a visual interface that doesn’t require you to code. You can easily drag and drop elements, e.g. images, product descriptions, and titles.
You can use your mouse to change the size of elements and add or change text and images.
You’ll love the ease of use, simple functionality, and modern designs. Overall, Weebly looks great when you compare it to the many website builders out there.
It started with the idea that “everyone should have the tools to take their business from idea to launch to growth.”
2. Choose a Plan – Weebly Review
You can choose from Free, Connect, Professional, and Performance. A couple of features to think about are:
- The free plan is designed for simple visual websites with limited features, but great if you want to try out the platform first.
- The shopping cart is available on all plans.
- The paid plans can be paid monthly, but if you sign up for a 1-year or 2-year plan, then you receive a discount.
- When you sign up to the platform you have a 30-day Money Back Guarantee, so if you change your mind you can withdraw, no questions asked.
Professional and Performance Plans
These plans offer some great features that help boost your website to a highly professional business:
- Header Slideshows – turn your header into a beautiful slideshow, showcasing your products.
- Site Search – this makes it easy for your visitors to search for a product with the search button.
- HD Video Player – add your own videos directly to your website. All plans can also add YouTube videos.
- Audio Player – add music or podcasts for a unique way to promote your website products and services.
- Advanced Site Stats – learn where your customers have come from and your most viewed pages.
- You can only accept payments through Paypal on the Performance Plan.
- Remove Weebly Ads – make sure your branding is number one on your site.
3. Setting up your Website
Weebly gets right down to business. The first thing you’ll be asked is if you’re going to sell things online (more on this later). Next, fill in your website’s name, products, and other details, seeing the template selector.
Weebly has many beautiful templates to choose from, and once you pick one, you’ll be asked if you want a Weebly domain, if you want to buy your own, or if you want to use a domain you already own.
With the free account, you can only use a Weebly subdomain, while the paid plans allow you to use your own domain.
Looking at the beautiful templates, they are very professional and easy to change to your images and words. You can drag and drop other options into the existing templates if you want. But you’ll find that if you want a stylish, simple, and static website, you won’t need to make many more changes.
Weebly does help you make a mobile version of your site, which is something to keep in mind.
In 2018 Weebly was bought by Square which is an online payment platform. You’ll be charged a % of each sale you make by Square. The free plan has limited Ecommerce options while the pro and business plans have more sophisticated eCommerce tools and features. See the list below…
4. Good Variety of Templates
Once upon a time, Weebly did what most website builders did: give users a huge number of templates to choose from. Even though there are only a few dozen templates now, they have found a way to make this work better.
I feel like this is a double-edged sword because some people might enjoy looking through templates of different designs and configurations. But on a more personal level, I think it fits with Weebly’s main goal, which is to help people build sites quickly and easily.
Choosing a Theme
As I looked through their template database (which Weebly calls “Themes”), I noticed that they offer a small number of categories that cover most of what people need for basic websites. This means that everything is there, but it has been easier to find so that users don’t have to waste time searching through hundreds of templates to find the “right one.”
Weebly used to have a lot of templates to choose from, but for some reason, they cut the number down to about 50. I’ll be honest: I’m not sure how I feel about the whole “number of templates” thing…
It also gets people to be a little more creative with their designs, so I think it’s a win for them all around.
5. Simple Website Editor
The drag-and-drop builder is at the heart of Weebly and makes it easy for users to make websites quickly. In a “what you see is what you get” interface, users can create their website by changing some visual elements.
There are two main points to this. You don’t need to understand how to code to use it. Yes, absolutely nothing. Even if you don’t know the difference between HTML and PHP, you can still build a full and functional website that could be as powerful as any other (almost).
The second thing is that the system lets sites be built quickly. Think of it like modern construction, where builders use parts that have already been made instead of building everything from scratch. It slows down development a lot.
I made a functional website that I could customize in less than two hours using their builder and templates. Of course, this only works if you don’t get sidetracked by all the features Weebly offers.
6. Center for Weebly Apps
The Weebly App Center is for people who want more than just the basic website-building experience. The drag-and-drop interface lets you use simple website elements, but you need to go to the app center for more powerful tools.
Weebly has more than 270 apps, some of which are free, and some cost money. Here, it’s easy to add and turn on features like eCommerce, marketing, and social media. Again, you don’t need to know how to code to use them, but some may require a basic understanding of things like email marketing.
I highly recommend you read Weebly’s comprehensive guide with a checklist for setting up your website: The Entrepreneur’s Checklist to Selling Online
7. Weebly Review – Analytics
Weebly lets you see some basic metrics, like what pages your visitors go to, how many hits you get, what people search for on your site, and even what other sites send people to your site.
Depending on what kind of Weebly account you have, you may or may not see all of the analytics. You can only see Page Views and Unique Visitors with a free account, so you may need to “pay to play,” as some might say. Still, it’s great to know this option is there.
8. SEO Tool Included
Search Engine Optimization is a very big part of the book on building and running websites. Some people might laugh at how basic Weebly’s SEO features are, but I urge you to remember what Weebly is for: making websites quickly and easily.
So, in this Weebly review, I’ve found that simple sites need fewer SEO options, and Weebly already has. They let you put in page titles and descriptions, header and footer code, control how search engines index your pages, and send people to different pages.
9. Perfect for eCommerce
E-commerce sites are a popular type of website because so many people buy things online. Weebly is great for this, and it has everything you need to set up your online store.
There is even a way to add and update a database of products with pictures and categories.
Their eCommerce part comes in pre-made templates, affecting how you show off your products. There are even different templates for different goods, like keeping track of the difference between digital and physical products and services.
10. Customer Service
Çustomer service is really important when you’re creating your website. All plans have access to the basics, like the knowledge base, community forum, and video tutorials.
All e-mails are answered by support, whether you’re on a free or premium plan. But only the performance plan receives priority service, with phone support, and your e-mails are answered much faster. Which is great if you’re stuck on some technical glitch!
11. Weebly Review Conclusion
I think Weebly is a success and will work well for you. The basics are there, and it’s a powerful tool if you want to start building e-commerce sites.
Weebly concentrates on what they do best – easy-to-use, drag-and-drop visually appealing websites that are perfect for online stores, artists, photographers, e-commerce sites, and magazine formats.
Even with a little time to get used to them, the main features are easy enough to use. At the same time, the app center gives you more advanced tools to make your site more powerful.
The free plan is fine if you want a website to showcase art, crafts, photography, etc. But if you want a true e-commerce online store, with additional shopping features, that make you money, then the Professional or Performance plans are affordable options. Especially if you choose an annual discounted plan.
